LOAN ABUSE IS INSULT TO PUBLIC

ALEXANDER ASTIN is indignant, but it is the American public that should be angry.

Astin, head of the UCLA Higher Education Institute, claims the U.S. Department of Education misused data from the institute's 1984 survey, The American Freshman, when it reported that 13,000 students from families with incomes of more than $100,000 were receiving low-interest federal loans.

The figure, Astin said, should be "less than 7,000" because the government failed to take into account the fact that rich students are overrepresented in the institute's survey.

Astin said he wants a correction and an apology, but the Department of Education is standing by its figures.

Regardless of which figures are correct, the public should demand action to end a practice that allows students whose families have incomes in excess of $100,000 from dipping into funds that should be reserved for those in need.

One case is too much; 7,000 loans are more than enough abuse to go around.